


eyes meeting over the noise

by redheadgleek



Series: klaine advent 2020 - meet-cute winter AUs [1]
Category: Glee
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, winter holidays
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-03
Updated: 2020-12-07
Packaged: 2021-03-10 11:01:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27849838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redheadgleek/pseuds/redheadgleek
Summary: A collection of Klaine wintery meet-cute AUs. Written for the Klaine Advent challenge, with each chapter as a different prompt from spaceorphan18.
Relationships: Blaine Anderson/Kurt Hummel
Series: klaine advent 2020 - meet-cute winter AUs [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2114964
Comments: 18
Kudos: 24
Collections: Klaine Advent 2020





	1. carve me open

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "It is winter and there's an ice sculpting competition at their college, and Kurt and Blaine keep going against each other!" Written for Klaine advent, prompt: abashed.

Blaine has to hand it to his dorm’s resident advisors. They’ve done an admirable job wrangling in restless, stupid college students during a pandemic, keeping them from congregating in public spaces, and shutting down any parties before masks even have a chance of coming off. This certainly hasn’t been the college experience that he had anticipated and while he’s good about wearing his mask and staying mostly in his room, he’s missed being with people. So when the RAs suggest an ice sculpting competition the first weekend of December as a “socially distant but in a bonding way” activity, Blaine is one of the first out of the door into the frigid air. 

Large blocks of ice perch on tables scattered across the green, surrounding a table filled with drills and bits. Blaine blinks a little at the power saw and steers clear of the group of guys waving it in the air, sure that something Very Bad is shortly to happen. 

He reaches out for a chisel, but it’s snatched up under his fingers. The man, eyes and hair only visible from his face coverings barely glances at him and certainly doesn’t apologize. Blaine shrugs and goes for a drill instead, only slightly bothered by his rude behavior.

Blaine’s no artist but he thinks he can manage carving a bowtie and sets to work. Using the drill is clumsy and one loop of the tie ends up smaller than the other, but other than that mishap, he’s overall pleased with how the shape emerges from the ice. Most of his classmates have paired up to work together (he hopes that the masks have enough protection) and he watches as they form misshaped hearts and snowmen and what he thinks is a dog, but it’s really hard to tell. His bowtie is at least recognizable. He might actually have a chance to win this thing. 

He heads back over to the table, looking for something to smooth down the edges (is there such a thing as an ice sander? He wonders), when he’s jostled from his reverie by a hard bump. “Hey!” he protests, “watch it!” 

It’s the same man again, with the perfectly groomed hair and penetrating eyes. “Sorry.” He apologizes this time at least and picks up the buffering disc that Blaine had been wanting. Blaine frowns, but finds some sand-paper instead and tries not to be too irritated. 

The allotted two hours fly by, before time is called and he surveys his results with satisfaction. It definitely looks like a bowtie and he’s pretty proud of the gathered pleat appearance next to the knot. 

Blaine takes advantage of the time that the RAs use to confer over the winners of the contest to walk around and see the other sculptures. The dog turns out to be a walrus (it doesn’t look like a walrus either). The snowman has some impressive abs and no face (which really is emblematic of his entire dating life so far he muses, at least before the pandemic shut down all of those extracurricular activities). He pauses over a realistic sculpture of a brain with blue lights glowing from inside - it’s impressive, with waves and bumps.

“He cheated, you know.” A voice murmurs in his ear, and he turns to see the rude stranger at his elbow, nodding towards the bored blond leaning against the table. “It’s a mold that he stuck in the freezer last night. He snuck it down here and just pretended to carve a sculpture and the judges will probably still reward him for it.” 

Blaine stares at the stranger, uncertain what to say, as shivers spark down his spine.. He’s tall and slim, handsome even with his face half covered and his eyes are sparkling with this shared gossip, and it’s been so long since somebody leaned into his space like this. “I liked your bowtie. Simple but sophisticated and well crafted.” 

Blaine blushes in abashment at the praise, glad that his mask is blocking some of his embarrassment. “What did - what did you make?” 

“Oh. Over here.” The man grabs Blaine’s elbow and drags him over.

“Are those… Dorothy’s slippers?” Blaine questions.

“Yes!” The man beams, obviously pleased that Blaine figured it out. 

“Wow.” Blaine is impressed. The slippers are slightly pebbled as if covered in sequins and perch on a carved brick road. His bowtie pales in comparison. 

“Are you…” The man pauses, “are you a friend of Dorothy?”

Blaine’s charmed by the quaint phrase. “Yes. Very much so. I–”

They’re interrupted by the RAs announcing the winners. Blaine gets a respectable third place (a door dash gift certificate for $20), the brain wins second, and the stranger wins first place. He stays to talk to the RAs and doesn’t look back at Blaine, and Blaine’s disappointed that he didn’t learn his name. 

Blaine picks up his stuff, trudging back to his dorm, when he feels a hand on his arm. “Wait. I um, know that things are weird, but I was wondering if you’d like to get a cup of coffee. To go, of course, that is if you’re okay drinking it outside.”

“Blaine.” He says, reaching out his hand. “I’m Blaine.”

“Kurt.” 

Two weeks later, after endless zoom call dates and texts and physically distant coffees and avoiding every other person in their dorms, Blaine finally presses his lips to Kurt’s. This was a much better prize than the gift certificate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [ You can find this on tumblr here. ](https://redheadgleek.tumblr.com/post/636381550221590528/it-is-winter-and-theres-an-ice-sculpting)


	2. three minutes ago

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "It's time for the Winter Meet'n'Greet -- where Rachel and Tina drag Kurt and Blaine (who don't know each other) because they want to meet people at college. It's like a blind date thing where you have only a few minutes to talk to each other and then move to the next person, and of course Kurt and Blaine meet there!"
> 
> Written for Klaine Advent, day 2: brake.

Really, it was Kurt’s fault for being in this predicament. He’s been friends with Rachel since their sophomore year, has watched her join every extracurricular activity offered, and has been dragged to more than one after-school club in the naming of padding her (their, she corrects) resume. 

He should never have assumed that that behavior would stop when she got to college. 

“It’s only one night.” Rachel argues, as she shoves a hat on his head, ignoring his protests about his hair. “They’ll be your classmates too in just a few short weeks, so you should get to know them now.” 

He doesn’t have much to say to dispute her point, so he allows her to tug him out into the cold. 

Kurt unwinds his scarf slowly, taking the opportunity to scan the room. Someone has transformed one of the classrooms into an intimate space, with holly and white Christmas lights strung across the ceiling. Candles flicker in small glasses on each table. It’s charming, a Charles Dickens set come to lifel 

“Welcome to the third annual All Drama Meet and Greet!” A cheerful woman hands him a drink card. “Take any open seat and we’ll get started in just a few minutes.” 

He finds a seat and takes out his phone to quickly check on his hair. Thankfully, the wool hadn’t flattened his hair too much.

“Is this seat free?” Kurt looks up to see a young man with warm, dancing eyes. 

“No. I mean yes. I mean. Please.” He blushes at his stumbling and gestures weakly as the seat. 

“Blaine.” The man says and holds out his hand.

“Kurt.” 

“I haven’t met you before, have I? You look very familiar?” 

“No, I- I’m new. Start next semester.”

“Wait. Are you the one who sang at the Winter Showcase a couple of weeks ago?” 

He blushes again. “Yes.”

“Your version of Being Alive was amazing.” 

“It was a last minute decision. I didn’t have a lot of time to prepare.”

“Don’t be modest.” Blaine said earnestly. “Kurt, you were truly… transforming.”

Kurt preens slightly. “Well, I’m no Bernadette Peters.”

Blaine laughs. “No, but who is really? I swear she’s immortal. Did you watch _Smash_?”

Kurt gives him his best glare. “Did I watch S _mash_? Blaine, what kind of gay wanna-be actor would I be if I didn’t spend my Thursday evenings glued to the screen and singing along.”

“Favorite song?”

“Not a favorite song perhaps, but Christian Borle? Did not sing nearly enough.”

“I know! Such a waste of his talent.”

“They are all too talented. That’s part of the problem with ensemble shows, there’s never enough time to showcase all of those who deserve the praise.” 

“Season 2 is coming out next month. Maybe, you could, you could come over and watch it with me?” Blaine suggests, his gaze warm and inviting in the flickering candlelight. 

“I’d … like that.” Kurt says breathlessly. 

A bell chimes loudly, startling them apart. “Okay, let’s put a brake to the idle chit-chat.” The woman who had directed him to his seat announces. “You know how this works. You’ve got three minutes to find out three interesting tidbits about your partner and then you move onto the next person, so that we can all get to know each other. Three minutes, that’s all. And ... go!” 

Blaine leans forward, reaching his hand across the table. “Hey. Would you like to get out of here? I think there are far more than three interesting tidbits about you and I would like to know them all.”

Having a boy gazing at him like he is precious and fascinating is intoxicating. On a whim, Kurt threads his fingers through Blaine’s hand, lifting it to place a soft kiss on the back. “I would love that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Tumblr link.](https://redheadgleek.tumblr.com/post/636468954928414721/its-time-for-the-winter-meetngreet-where)


	3. fall for you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "Blaine goes to throw a snowball at Sam and unexpectedly hits Kurt in the back! Meet-cute!"
> 
> Written for Klaine Advent, day 3: careless.

Kurt’s thoughts are murderous as he trudges down the barely shoveled sidewalk. It’s Saturday, just a week until finals and he’s headed to the library. Where he’s supposed to be meeting with his study group to hash out the final details of their presentation on Monday in his Musical Theater History class. But apparently, NYADA’s cutthroat competition doesn’t extend to group projects because all three of his classmates have bailed out on him this morning, leaving him to dash to Fedex this morning to print up the poster about Greek theater (that he created) and then to the multimedia center to ensure that the room was equipped with surround sound (it wasn’t, but they had portable speakers that Kurt lugged back to his dorm), and then to the costume storage room to rummage around for clothes that could approximate Greek-style robes (he found one costume left over from a production of Xanadu. The others will have to make do with sheets). 

And now, when he should be studying for his four other finals, he’s off to the library to try to salvage the incoherent and incomplete garbage that his classmates thought would suffice for a presentation worth 30% of their final grade. 

Absorbed in his thoughts about the vengeful glee he’ll have when he makes them dress as the Greek chorus and echo his every word, he doesn’t notice the cluster of students playing in the green.

Or the snowball, until it smacks him on the side of his head, which causes him to slip on the icy, snow-packed sidewalk. Before he can even process what’s happened, he’s sprawled on his back, lungs suddenly empty of air, the melting snow and the remnants of his coffee soaking into his coat. 

“Oh god, are you okay? I didn’t mean to hit you. Sam– Sam and I were having a snowball fight, and I didn’t even see you. I didn’t see you. I promise. Are you hurt?” A man leans over him, anxiety etched into his face. 

Kurt doesn’t think he hit his head, but he can’t help fixating on the honeyed eyes filled with concern as the stranger helps Kurt up from the ground.

“I’m… I’m okay, I think.” His vision swarms a little and he clutches at the arm still around his waist.

“Whoa, there. Take it easy.” Kurt closes his eyes and slows his breathing, taking inventory of his body. His tailbone is smarting and he’s already feeling the clammy cold wetness seeping into his legs and chest, but other than that, he’s not hurt. He opens his eyes and steps away from the man’s warm arm. 

“I’m okay.” He repeats. 

The man still looks anxious, whipping his scarf off his neck, and dabbing it on Kurt’s coat. “And I got coffee all over you as well. I’m so sorry.”

Any anger dissipates with the man’s attention. Kurt brushes the man’s arm away, stopping his nervous blotting. “It’s fine, truly. That’s a nice scarf. Let’s not ruin it too.”

“It’s nothing compared to a ruined Burberry coat.”

Kurt pauses and tilts his head in surprise. “You recognize my coat?”

“Are you kidding? I lusted over that one for months.” The man gushes, reaching out to finger Kurt’s lapels. 

“Somebody obviously didn’t. I found this at the thrift shop on the corner.” Kurt preens. It had been a magnificent find.

“And I ruined it.”

“Nothing that a dry cleaner can’t fix.” Kurt replies, optimistically, although he’s truly doubtful as he takes in the dark black stains on the pale gray wool. 

“Let me pay for that.”

Kurt shakes his head and bends over to retrieve his bag. Thankfully his computer doesn’t seem any worse for the wear from his tumble. “It was a mistake. Don’t worry about it.”

“Please, allow me. It’s the least I could do to make up for my carelessness.” 

“Blaine!” A blond man jogs up to them. “Did you apologize? Man, that really took you out. That musta hurt like a sonofabitch.” He gestures to Kurt. 

Embarrassment floods his cheeks at having more witnesses to his indignity. “I’m fine, really.” Kurt slings his bag over his shoulder.

“Could I at least get you a cup of coffee? I feel really awful about this.” Blaine really does look apologetic, handsome and earnestly sweet, and if he hadn’t just witnessed Kurt at his most clumsy and awkward, he might have taken him up on the offer. 

But as it is, he’s itching to escape. “Don’t worry about it, really. I have to go. Finals and all.” He smiles politely and gives a little wave in farewell, careful picking his way down the sidewalk. The last thing he needs is to fall again and bruise more than just his ego.

“Did you at least ask him out? Get his number?” He hears Sam loudly asking his friend and then apparently respond, “What? He’s totally your type.” 

Kurt stops and digs through his bag before turning around. The boys have started to clomp their way across the heavy snow. “Wait!” He calls. “Blaine, wait.”

Blaine’s back at his side in mere seconds. 

“It was Blaine, right? Here. Here’s my number. I- I could do coffee tomorrow, if you’re free.” Kurt hands him a scrap of paper that he’s scribbled on. “Kurt. My name is Kurt.” 

Blaine’s eyes light up and crinkle with his broad smile. “Blaine. And uh, yeah, I could do coffee tomorrow.” 

Kurt smiles in response, his bad day transforming into sudden sunshine. “Then it’s a date.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to reblog on tumblr,[ you can do so here.](https://redheadgleek.tumblr.com/post/636728688441982976/blaine-goes-to-throw-a-snowball-at-sam-and)


	4. intoxicating

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "Kurt and Blaine have been both been dumped before their College X-Mas party, neither want to go, but happen to meet each other at the party."

Blaine grabs a cup of cider as soon as he takes off his jacket and gulps it down. It’s warm with the right amount of cinnamon and pleasantly alcoholic and just what he needs as he grimaces at the sight of all of the cozy couples curled up in front of fake fires and hung mistletoe. 

He wasn’t going to come tonight, but his roommate had been insistent.

“I’m not looking at your mopey face any longer.” Santana had remarked as she had thrown him out the door. “Bland-mayonaise-on-white-bread Whatever-His-Name wasn’t worth one night of tears, much less an entire week. We’re running out of kleenex.” 

“I haven’t been crying over Brad. Not really.” Blaine protested vainly. He might have been upset that night when Brad told him that was over, but that was mostly because Blaine had splurged for a nice dinner at the Italian restaurant that Brad had raved about (it was mediocre overpriced food. Ohio had better Italian restaurants) and Brad had waited until after dinner and after sex to drop the news that he was done with Blaine. Blaine felt used and completely dispensable by Brad’s actions and utterly depressed about the lack of real romance in his life. All he wanted was to meet a nice boy to walk through Central Park and cuddle up in a cozy café drinking chocolate together. He didn’t think it was too much to ask. 

“Whatever, cupcake. Dani’s in charge of this party and you and I are going to go out and be supportive, so afterwards, Dani can unwrap me like a Christmas present and eat all of my milk and cookies.”

Blaine wrinkled his nose. “I don’t even want to know how you can make sex jokes out of Christmas.”

“It’s a gift.” She smirked. “Maybe we’ll find you a little elf who will lick your candy cane.”

“God, no, stop it.” 

Of course, she had promptly left him as soon as they had entered the door, leaving Blaine in the corner not knowing a soul. He had moved out of the dorms after his freshman year and didn’t really participate in the campus activities all that much. And even though he had been meaning to join the “Queer Peers” group that NYADA had sponsored, time had slipped away from his best intentions. 

He downs another mug of the delicious cider and some equally delicious eggnog before wandering off for some food. There’s a small buffet in the corner and he loads up a plateful of brisket and latkes and some holly shaped cookies, along with a glass of mulled wine. By the time he finds Dani and Santana, he’s feeling pleasantly warm from the alcohol. 

He kissed Dani on the cheek. “The hall looks amazing.” He gushes. “So much snow and snow-cicles. Cicles. Icicles.”

Dani laughs and kisses him back. “They finally gave us a budget this year. Some higher up has a queer kid and it finally dawned on them that a theatrical arts school just might have a sizable LGBTQ community.”

Santana wraps an arm around her girlfriend’s waist. “I love it when you get provoked.” 

Dani twists slightly to kiss Santana deeply. “Personal causes do that to me.” She purrs and kisses Santana again.

“Er.” Blaine coughs slightly, feeling very much out of place and a lot lonely. 

Dani breaks the kiss but doesn’t move away from Santana’s arms, and Blaine again longs for that sort of comfortable relationship (even though he’s really not up to that degree of PDA). “My band’s performing in a little while. Have you met Elliott and Kurt yet? Oh, you should; I think you’d like them a lot. I’ll introduce you after our set.”

“I didn’t know you had a band.” Blaine remarks. He doesn’t remember a lot of things right now, but he should have remembered a band. Because bands are nice and he likes music. 

“It’s just a little side gig really. We call ourselves One Three Hill. It's a fun way to spend a Friday night once in a while.”

That’s nice, Blaine thinks. It’s a little difficult concentrating on her words, but it’s not that hard concentrating on the very hot guy who comes up to her elbow, because he is tall, with legs that go on forever in tight leather pants and he has swoopy hair that reaches up to heaven and he’s wearing eyeliner and Blaine may have fallen in love on the spot. He says so. 

The boy giggles but tugs on Dani’s arm. “Dani. We have to go.”

She looks at him suspiciously. “Have you been drinking, Kurt?”

“Just a glass or two. And that’s only because my lousy ex is over there playing tonsil hockey with some floozy and boys are gross.” 

Blaine stares at Kurt. “Is your ex named Brad? Because mine is and he is gross too.”

“No. Adam. Adam is a snake!” He yells. “But you’re not a snake. I can tell. You’re very pretty. You have very pretty eyes. They’re like whiskey. Warm, drinkable whiskey.”

“That’s not fair!” Blaine pouts, “because there isn’t a blue drink and I can’t compare your eyes to a blue drink. They’re like … blue. So blue. ” 

“Oh my god. There’s two of them. Gag me.” Santana cuts in.

“Okay Romeos.” Dani says sweetly, slipping her arm through Kurt’s. “We really need to go on stage soon. Are you going to remember the words?”

“‘Course I can. ‘M not that drunk.”

“Sure you’re not, sweetie.” She kisses Santana lightly. “I’ll meet up with you afterwards.” 

“Santana.” Blaine breathes. “I just met an angel. A hot, leather angel. Did you see him?”

Santana rolls her eyes, and steers them over to the chairs in front of the makeshift stage. “Let’s get some bread and cheese in you to sop up some of that alcohol.” 

Kurt is magnificent in his band, his voice like honeyed gold that sweeps through Blaine and brings him to his feet, clapping and singing along, and the way he swivels his hips is sinful and he sings just to Blaine and Blaine’s never heard such a sultry rendition of Santa Baby ever. 

The alcohol has mostly left his system by the time One Three Hill finishes their set of holiday songs and come to find him and Santana and a crowd of fans, but that wash of warm, giddy delight has taken residence in his stomach. He’s not embarrassed by his drunken behavior - something in him knows that this - this is the start of something special. Blaine shakes hands with Elliott, who seems like a cool guy, but his eyes fixate only on Kurt, basking in his friends’ praise. 

Kurt makes his way over to him, his intense gaze more intoxicating than any alcohol. “Kurt. You were … are remarkable.” His hands find his way into Kurt’s and he holds them like they are precious gifts. 

“Thank you. I... I don’t even know your name.”

“Blaine. I’m Blaine.” 

Suddenly, Kurt stoops and Blaine feels lips brush lightly against his own. They’re gone before his eyes can flutter shut. “Mistletoe.” Kurt blushes, and gestures to the small spring hanging in the doorway a good three feet from them. 

“There’s a coffee shop that’s open late around here and they have the most amazing drinking chocolate.” Blaine says, squeezing his hand.

“I’d like to.” Kurt interrupts and this time, it’s Blaine who leans up for another kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Find it on my tumblr here.](https://redheadgleek.tumblr.com/post/636833338316013568/kurt-and-blaine-have-been-both-been-dumped-before)


End file.
